One problem about writing about a girl in high school is that I haven't been in high school since 1986. In the manuscript I've been working on, my main character pulls a fire alarm at school. She does so on impulse, in one of those it seemed like a good idea at the time impulses. …
Category: character
Music, Dance, and Storytelling
When I write, I sometimes listen to music. The music fits either the mood of the story or the personality of the characters. The other day, I had the chance to collaborate on a music show with London DJ Claudio Fiore and with my publisher, Plum Tree Books, that tells the story of the music …
an ever-changing novel excerpt
Nodding, Fran stepped into the circle. She took a deep breath and lay down in its center. Staring up at the stars, she thought about the dirt pressing into her hair and the bugs that might be nearby. She didn’t believe in Milla’s ideas, her rituals, or chants, and she sometimes thought Milla was close …
What’s Up, Documentary?
The other evening I watched the documentary Heart of the King. Have you seen it? Do you watch documentaries much? Are you a fan of Elvis? I'm not a huge Elvis fan. I don't dislike him either though. His story is interesting and I've sung along to some of his songs. But I love documentaries …
Speaking of mug shots…
Do you ever google people from your past? Hmmm? Well, okay. So. I set my novel in 1985 because that's when I was a teen and because I didn't want to deal with cell phones and google. I used my hometown as a starting point for my novel. But then my fictional town of Lake …
Why is it dark in here?
Recently I joked, "I could've written a light comedy." And my husband replied, "I don't think you have light comedy in you." A friend said, "It's odd because you're a funny person." Hey, I didn't set out to write a dark, emotional novel. I started with an image and went from there. But I don't …
Bad Stories and Good Fans
The other night I watch a documentary about a movie I haven't seen. Well, the title Best Worst Movie caught my attention. And I had, at least, heard of Troll 2. Have you seen Troll 2? Even if you haven't, watch the documentary. At one point, people in the film talk about how something badly …
Brimming Over
Sometimes the mind just brims over with ideas. Do you ever have trouble deciding what to focus on or what to pursue? I'm going to pursue as many as I can. One is the idea of a princess detective. I want to try to write a princess that isn't what most people think. I'm writing …
The Nicest Guy!
Because of facebook, I now know that a certain individual from my hometown is having serious health problems. He and I are not facebook friends, but we've known each other since we were five. Well, he was five and I was four. Anyway. On facebook a mutual friend posted about his illness and asked people …
Still Thinking about Hitler
Okay, I'm not exactly thinking about Hitler. But the last post discussed the idea of killing in a time traveling sense, which meant if-this-then-this thinking. Writers do this kind of thinking all the time. If I have my character go here instead of there or say that instead of this... And if you've written the …
Marta Bacon 